Advent Means Peace
Advent Means...

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Good morning,church! We’re talking about the meaning of Advent. We’ve already said that Advent means “coming” or “appearing.” We’ve already mentioned that we live between the two comings, the two advents: Christ has come and He is coming again.

What are the themes of advent? Hope, peace, joy, and love. Today, we want to “unpack” this idea that advent means love; that Christ’s coming means peace.

As we look at the book of Isaiah, we see the prophet speaking about the Messiah that was to come at the first advent. The prophet Isaiah says this, Isaiah 9:6 (ESV) “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The Jewish people were looking forward to the coming of their Messiah, the one Who would bring peace.

At His first advent, an angel announced Christ’s birth to the shepherds: Luke 2:14 (KJV) “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The angel declared to the shepherds that this Christ had indeed come. Yet, where is this peace? Where is this peace that the coming of Christ promises?

As we look around us today, as we watch the news, we don’t see peace. We see war everywhere we look. The Israel Hamas war began with the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, killing, raping, kidnapping civilians on October 7th. It’s now two months in and the war still goes on. There is suffering on both sides, especially among children, widows and older people. It’s always true –war always brings suffering to both sides. No one ever really wins.

The Ukraine Russia war has entered its 654th day of conflict. Death and destruction continue. The US is entangled in this war. Where will it end? How will it continue? No one knows. War always begets more war.

Even in our own country, the cultural divide has grown so great that our pledge to be one God, to be one nation under God indivisible, sounds more and more hollow. Indeed, as the cultural divide continues on most important matters, we are not an undivided nation, but we are a divided people.

As the prophet Jeremiah said, in Jeremiah 8:11, “People are saying, ‘Peace, peace’ when there is no peace.” Where is the peace? What’s the problem? Why is there no peace, this peace that the advent of Christ was to bring?

Perhaps James gives us an insight. Here’s what he says, in James 4:1-2 (NLT), “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?” You see, the reason that humanity is at war is because we are at war in our own hearts. There will be no peace until the heart is changed.

How do we really find peace? One heart at a time. There must be a heart change. There must be peace in our hearts before there can ever be peace in this world . Indeed, as we think about our own hearts today, I ask you to do that. That’s what the advent season should really be about; it should be a time of pulling back for a moment and thinking, ‘How am I doing with God?

There is something that I would like for you to do right now. Look at your bulletin and look at that part where it talks about a “peace inventory.”

Are you at peace today? Do you have a deep, abiding, quiet sense of peace? Or are you struggling with anxiety and a sense of disquiet and disorder? Let’s take a little “peace inventory” together to see how we’re doing. On a scale of 1-5, meaning 1=Never, 2=Seldom, 3=Sometimes, 4=Frequently or 5=Always. With God: Do you have peace of mind? Or is your mind filled with a jumble of unforgiveness, unresolved plans,and and frustrating disappointments? Are you clear about God’s will for your life? Are you free from conflict between what you want and what you sense God wants? With Self: Are your inner feelings at peace? Are you free from smoldering anger, nagging fears, frustration, and envy? Is your body at peace? Are you strained by stress, agitation, nervousness? Or are you free from tension, churning stomach, tight muscles, high blood pressure? Do you have a sense of calmness in your soul and body? With Others: Since your relationships with people have so much to do with how you experience peace, do you let others rob you of inner peace? Do you have an unresolved offense against someone? Do you have feelings of anger and even hatred towards another? Are you at peace with others? With Circumstances: Do you allow circumstances to disrupt your ability to be at peace? Do you remain calm in the face of trouble? Are you able to be at peace in the midst of life’s storms?

May I say to you that there’s really only one true source for peace and His peace is more than the world’s peace, which is really only a cessation of hostility, because His peace is “Shalom,” which is a sense of happy, joyful contentment . A sense that all things are well and all things will be well.

Peace is not a place; peace is a person and His name is Jesus. It’s this person, Jesus, who offers true peace The night before He was betrayed, the night before His crucifixion at the last supper, in the book of John chapter 13 through 17, is often referred to as the “farewell discourse of Jesus.” In His last words to His disciples, in John chapter 14:27 and 28, He begins to talk to them about this peace that He would give them and I believe that we can have that peace that Christ offers.

As we look at the text today, I think we’ll see three wonderful gifts that are given, that emerge from receiving this peace that we can have in Christ. Let’s look at the text; it is just two verses this morning for us to “unpack” together.

John 14:27-28 (ESV) 27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” This is God’s word. Amen.

THE PEACE THAT CHRIST GIVES…

1. Calms our troubled hearts.

The peace that Christ gives calms our troubled hearts. Do you see that in verse 27? Do you see the word, “peace?” It’s there twice. If you’re taking notes, circle the word, “peace.” He calls it “my peace.” He says, “my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives…” This is a unique brand of peace. This is the peace of Christ. There’s no other peace like it. This is the person of Christ that he offers and he offers it to calm our troubled hearts.

The word, “peace,” in the Greek, is of interest. It’s “eirēnē.” If your name is Irene, you got it from the Greek word for peace. In the Old Testament, the word, “shalom,” occurs 250 times. “Shalom” is a Hebrew word. “eirēnē,” in the New Testament is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word, “shalom.” When Jesus said “Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you,” because He was Jewish, He probably said, “Shalom, I leave with you; my shalom I give to you.”

This word, “shalom,” is of interest because it’s so prevalent. It was so prevalent that they use it as a greeting and they still do, to this day. If you are in Israel today and you’re talking to a Jewish person, they will greet you with “shalom.” It’s a greeting that says, “peace unto you,” but it’s more than that. It’s got this idea of, “may you be healthy and prosperous.” It’s a wish of health, wholeness and prosperity. It’s been carried into the Arabic language so that, throughout the Middle East, you’ll hear the greeting of, “shalom.”

You can even go to places, like Indonesia, which I have visited, and you learn that the word, “shalom,” is even there. On a morning like this, I were greeting you in Indonesian, I would say “Selamat pagi,” which means “peace in the morning” or “good morning.”

That word, “shalom, ” is so important in the scripture, but it’s more than a greeting. It’s more than an expression of health and well being. It means harmony, security, safety and prosperity. For the believer, it’s that tranquil state of being in Christ and Christ in us, where we know that all things are right with us and God. “All things are well and all things will be well,” because He has this peace that He offers.

The word, “give,” has the idea of a gift and when Jesus gives a gift, he has a “no return policy.” His giving is life. When He gives a gift, He gives of the highest quality and it lasts forever; it has an eternal quality. When He gives, He gives it completely to you. He gives us this peace. He says, ‘it’s My peace, not as the world gives.’

The world gives a temporary peace, a little break in the hostilities before the next war breaks out. It’s always of a lesser quality. It doesn’t follow us everywhere we go. It’s just based on circumstances. But the peace of Christ, that’s based on the person of Christ and the peace of Christ, is always present in the person who has Christ living within them.

Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” The word, “trouble,” in the the Greek New Testament, has the idea of an inward commotion, like a boiling pot, filled with anxiety, troubled, restlessness , distressed and agitated. “Troubled” is like a storm at sea, rocking back and forth. He says to you and to me this morning, in verse 27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” His peace calms our troubled hearts. When He speaks of the heart, He’s not talking about this one that beats in your chest. When the Bible uses the word, “heart,” it’s speaking of “the center of the self.” It’s the seat of the intellect, of the emotion and of the will. It’s the “driver’s seat” of your life.When Jesus speaks of the heart, He means at the very center of your being. I know you’re troubled but let not your hearts be troubled. I’m giving you My peace.

We have a problem. There’s a resistance in our hearts to His peace. This problem is because there’s war in our hearts, first of all, towards God. It says in Romans 8:7 (NIRV) “The mind ruled ruled by the power of sin is at war with God.” We want what we want, rather than what God wants and so, our hearts are at war with God. Our thinking is at war with God. That’s a problem. It’s hard to have peace if you’re at war with God.

Then, there’s that second problem, which I mentioned earlier. James talks about it in James 4:1-2 (NLT) “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?” Because you’re at war with God, you’re not being what God made you to be, so, you’re at war with yourself. As soon as you go after something, you really want it, you fight for it, you run over people to get it and then, finally, you get it and you say, ‘You know what? That didn’t work out the way I was hoping. It didn’t feel like I thought it would.’ Then, you start thinking about the next thing. That’s the heart that is troubled; it’s at war with itself. That’s a problem that every human being has apart from God. We all have troubled hearts, at war with God and at war with ourselves.

What’s the solution? Paul speaks of it in Romans 5:1 (NLT) “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” What has He done for us? He died on the cross for our sins. He was raised on the third day and He lives today. He’s ascended to the right hand of the Father and He stands there as an intercessor for us. That’s what He’s done for us. When we place our faith in that, we place our faith that Jesus died for our sins, that He’s risen and lives today. We confess him as our Lord and Savior. When we do that, we are no longer at war with God. There’s peace and then, the peace within ourselves begins to settle in, because now, our wills are not arguing against God and our wills become more in alignment with God’s purpose for our lives. We start sensing a holy kind of quiet contentment.

First of all, in order to have the “quieting of the storm” in our heart, of this troubled, agitated heart, is to, first of all, “wave the surrender flag” and say, ‘I surrender, God. I don’t want to be in charge anymore. I’m putting Jesus in charge of my life.’

Do you remember the story in Mark 4:37-41? Jesus had been ministering to the people. He was really tired. I really like this about Jesus; He liked going out on a boat. He liked being out on the Sea of Galilee. He had these professional fishermen, like Peter, James and John. These guys all grew up fishing on the Sea of Galilee. But, on this particular day, Jesus was asleep in the bow of the boat; He had, probably, wound up some netting there to make a pillow for His head. He was worn out from all of the ministry that He had done. Suddenly, this terrible storm comes up. You know it was bad because it scared the professional fishermen. They, probably, tried everything – bailing water out, pulling the sails down… They couldn’t get to shore and so they cry out, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He’s sleeping soundly in the boat and they’re all terrified.

Do you ever do that? Do you ever have a storm in your life, where you wonder, God, where are you? Don’t You care about me? Where are you? If you have Him in your life, He’s right there. He’s waiting for you to actually cry out to Him. You’ve been trying to do it yourself. If you’ll admit it, you’ve been “bailing out” as hard as you can. You’ve been “pulling the sails” in. You’ve been doing everything that you know to do . Even if it’s something where you’re an expert, sometimes it throws you adrift.

(Back to the passage in Mark) Jesus raises up and He says, “Peace be still.” Immediately, the storm calmed. The waves are still. The sea becomes like glass. A holy hush comes over the storm, as the blue sky and the sun emerge. Suddenly these disciples, who were so fearful of that which was outside of the boat, the book of Mark says, ‘…and they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

He’s Jesus, because peace is a person. Peace is the person of Jesus Christ. Do you want peace in your heart, to calm your troubled soul? Who is this man Who can calm this troubled heart? It’s Jesus. Have you ever given your life to Him? Have you trusted Him as your Lord and Savior? Have you put the war in your heart at peace with God and within yourself ? This is inner peace. He calms our troubled hearts.

THE PEACE THAT CHRIST GIVES… 2. Eases our fearful thoughts.

Remember, I told you that the heart is not only the emotions and the will, but it’s also the intellect, the mind. Now, we’re working that further out. We see in verse 27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” This is the second wonderful gift, that Jesus puts our fears to rest. He eases our fears. We’re usually afraid of those things that are outside of our control. We have an illusion that we have some things under our control. As you get older, you start realizing that it was an illusion the whole time. There’s really nothing under your control . You think there is; we think we can take the place of God. That’s what it means: If you’ve tried to put things under your control, you’re trying to take God’s place. Here, Jesus says, ‘Don’t be afraid; don’t let your heart be afraid.’

Usually, when you’re reading the word, “fear” or “afraid” in the Greek New Testament, it’s got this Greek word, “phobos,” underneath which is where we get the word, “phobia. “ I assumed, when I started studying that word, that it would be the same if I looked in my Greek New Testament, but it was a different Greek word. It’s a particular Greek word that’s always taken in the negative sense. It has more the idea of a kind of a cowardly fear, a kind of fear that fills the mind so that the person becomes destabilized and unable to move forward. Jesus is basically saying this kind of fear has no business taking up space in our minds. Believer, He tells us that we shouldn’t be fearing.

Those stories that I told you at the beginning of the message make us fearful. You shouldn’t be afraid of what’s happening in the Middle East, in Europe, in the Ukraine, Russia and what’s happening in the streets of the United States. These are external things. You’re not in control of them anyway, but God is. He says, ‘don’t let your mind, don’t let your thoughts be filled with fear. It will rob you of the peace of Christ.’ The peace of Christ says this to me, that I am in the hand of God. I am His and He is mine and nothing can touch me unless it first passes through His fingers. “All things are well and all things will be well.”

This is the peace of Christ that eases our fearful thoughts, but how do we obey this? Do we just tell our hearts to stop being afraid? The more we tell ourselves to stop being afraid , we’re often more focused on being afraid. It’s very rarely helpful to focus on your fears. I

Instead, the scripture says to focus on the Lord. Look what Isaiah says, Isaiah 26:3-4 (ESV) “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” He doesn’t say to focus on your fears. He says to let your mind be stayed on the Lord and then you’ll have this perfect peace. That’s a different quality; it’s not the kind of peace the world offers. It’s perfect peace.

How do we do this? How do we work this out? We must focus on the Lord. What else would be helpful?

Paul gives help in Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) 6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul helps us with our worries because worries are really fears. We’re talking to ourselves; worry is talking to yourself. What are we going to do about this? Wecould stay up all night, talking to ourselves. If we are in the shower, we can say it out loud while we are shampooing our hair. I don’t know what you are going to do today. . Sometimes you answer yourself out loud. Worry is “self talk;” it’s anxious “self talk.”

Turn your worries into prayers. Worry is talking to yourself. Prayer is talking to God. It takes the same amount of energy to talk to yourself as it does to talk to God. So, stop worrying and start praying. Set your mind on the Lord, turn your worries into prayers and watch the perfect peace that transcends all understanding wash over your hearts and your minds. Jesus eases our fearful thoughts. You can let His peace rule.

It says in Colossians 3:15 (ESV) “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” That’s unusual wording – let peace rule. The word, here, has the idea of an umpire; let peace “umpire “ your heart. Let peace guard your heart.

The Pax Romana, which was the centuries of peace that was inaugurated by the Roman Caesar Augustus, was won by the sword. But the peace of Jesus is of a different “sword.” It was won by His sacrifice on the cross. It was won by His love and His peace. It is not a temporary peace. His peace is based on a person because Christ’s peace is based on Jesus. This peace says, like an umpire, when something is going out of sorts in your life and you start to look at it and you start to be afraid, His peace will overrule and say, ‘that’s out of bounds. You don’t need to be worried about that. That over there belongs to Me. That’s out of bounds for you.’ Jesus umpires your heart. Peace rules your heart; His piece governs. Oh, that’s coming your way. Don’t swing at that. That’s a ball; that’s outside the strike zone. Jesus begins to umpire your heart so that peace is sustained.

Let the peace of Christ govern, rule, umpire your heart. Peace is a person. It’s the person of Jesus Christ. Let Christ speak to you and let His peace remain.

We’ve said that He calms our troubled hearts. he eases our fear, fearful thoughts.

THE PEACE THAT CHRIST GIVES… 3. Makes our hearts rejoice.

We’re at verse 28 now. He says, “You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” He’s referring to, earlier in chapter 14, where He’s been talking to the disciples for a little while and, and he’s really just explaining right there that He has come and He is coming. He is about to leave them, but I will come to them. He’s explaining something to them – He’s already come, but He’s going to leave and go to the Father and He’s going to come again.

Here, we see the two advents in view. He has come, He’s leaving, but He’s coming again. That’s what He’s talking about in verse 28. He’s referring back to the earlier part of the chapter. He’s reminding His disciples of that, “You heard me say to you…” The disciples were troubled and worked up about it. He says to them, “If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father…” Instead, the disciples were troubled and fearful.

Do you remember how Jesus started? If you go back to chapter 14:1-3, it says, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

In verse 5 of that chapter, Thomas says to Him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” In verse 6 and 7, Jesus says to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

In verse 8 of that chapter, Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”

Judas, then, raises his hand with a question. He told John, ‘Now, when you write about me include (not Iscariot), ok?’ Verse 22 of that chapter says this, Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus replies to him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Jesus is going to leave, but will send the Holy Spirit, who will live in them .

This is where we’re at in the chapter. Here, the disciples have been troubled. They don’t know what’s going on. Jesus is going to leave them, but Jesus tells them that, if they really loved Him, they would be happy. He has been telling them that He is to go to the cross, He must pay for their sins. If they really loved Him, they would embrace the purpose that He has.

Maybe, you’ve had a friend or a loved one that is not from this area, but they moved here and you got really close to them. Then they find out that they are to have a baby; as soon as they find out,they start wanting to move back home, which is in another state. They are going to need some help with this first grand baby; they need to move near the grandparents. But, you don’t want your friend to leave. You say, ‘I don’t want you to leave. I love you. I want you to stay.’ Your friend says back to you, ‘If you really love me, you would know how badly that I need to go back to my mom and dad. If you really love me, you’d understand.’

Jesus is trying to explain to His disciples, ‘If you really love Me, you would know that I’m going back to my Father. It will be better for you because I’m going to send the Holy Spirit to live in you. It’s the spirit of Christ that’s going to be with you all of the time, so I’ll never really leave you , nor forsake you and I’m going to come again. When I do, I’m gonna accept you as My own and I’m preparing a place for you.’ His disciples don’t get it; this is going way over their heads. Jesus says to them that they should be in a state of rejoicing.

That’s where we should be, because peace and joy always go together. You can’t have joy if you’re not at peace. Have you ever noticed that, if you’re all troubled and fearful, there’s no joy. Joy is like the light in your dash. If it comes on and says, ‘You’ve got joy,’ then you’re already at peace, but if it flashes red, peace is already gone.

Jesus said to His disciples that they should be rejoicing right now because, even though He was leaving, He was going to the Father on their behalf. He is coming again, so, rejoice in between the two comings.

He says to us as well today, ‘I’m going to the Father on your behalf.’ In John 16:33 (ESV) , He says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” There will be trouble in this world, but don’t focus on that. Focus on the One who has overcome the trouble because peace is not a place. Peace is a person. Peace is the person of Jesus Christ. Would you trust Him today? Peace and joy go together. If you want joy, you must have peace. As the apostle Paul wrote, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” They go together. Advent means peace.

Let’s pray. Lord, I come to You, first of all, for that person that’s here today and their heart is troubled. They’re troubled and fearful because their heart is still not right with You. Lord, I pray for that person right now. Maybe you are in this room, maybe you’re in the next room watching or watching at home online. Wherever you are, I know the Lord’s dealing with you. He’s applying His word to your heart right now. He says, “Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let your heart be afraid.” Prayer is just expressing your faith in God. Would you pray with me right now? Right where you are, pray like this, “Dear Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner. My heart is troubled. I feel far from You today, but I want to come near. I believe that You died on the cross for me, that You were raised from the grave and that You live today. I believe that. I place my faith in that reality. Lord come and live in me. I invite You now to be my Lord and Savior. Forgive me of my sins.” If you’re praying that prayer of faith, believing, He will save you and He will give you the “peace that passes all understanding.” Others are here today and you’re a follower of Jesus. You have Jesus in your life, but you’ve been focused on outer things. You’ve taken your eyes off of Him for a season. It’s caused you to feel troubled. It’s caused you to feel fear. It’s stolen your joy. Would you pray right now with me, dear believer, right now? Pray, “Lord, forgive me. I’ve taken my eyes off of You, Jesus during this season. I’ve been focusing on the storm, on my fears. I’ve been focusing on my discouragement, but now Lord, I want to focus on You. I want to stay my mind on You. I’m turning my worries into prayers. Lord, would you give me that “peace that passes all understanding?” We pray it now, in Jesus’ name. Amen.